


The New Resistance

by AriaGS



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-17 22:45:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13086975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AriaGS/pseuds/AriaGS
Summary: They are the spark that will light the Resistance.Takes place after The Last Jedi.A slow burn Damerey story.Rey founds herself lost, she is sure of what not to become, she will not turn to the dark side like Kylo but she will also not shut herself from the force like Luke.Poe becomes the second in  command after General Organa but he is afraid of repeating the same mistakes, it is time to prove to himself if he can be a leader of something much more bigger than him.Finn struggles to face his feelings towards the Resistance, specially since his heart seems to be confused.





	1. Chapter 1

Rey was still in awe from all the have happened, she had gone to Luke's island looking for a teacher, a reason, a sense of belonging, and yet she had found something very different.

"Rey" a voice woke her up from her thoughts, she looked up to see Leia, the woman smiled kindly at her and offered her hand "You should get some rest"

Without a second thought she took her hand, she was exhausted not only physically but also mentally. Leia lead her to the sleeping quarters which she guessed belonged to Han Solo, even when it was only her and Chewy traveling she didn't dare to sleep in his quarters.  
However she was too tired to disagree with Leia and took the room.

"What about you General?" She asked looking around, this was the most private place in the Falcon.

"I've slept too much already, you need to recover" she answered and left her alone.

Rey had never felt so lonely in her whole life, slowly she took off her boots and laid down, even in Jakku she always looked forward to the future hoping to get answers but now that she had learned the true she wondered if it had been worth it.

Suddenly it was cold, Ben faced her, she had gotten used to  see him but something felt different, his image was blurry and his  voice was distant.  
"You will regret it" he spoke right into her ear making her have goosebumps.

Quickly she woke up and looked around for a sign of him... nothing.  
Rey realized she was covered in a thin layer of sweat, it hadn't been a dream, somehow the two were still connected, she had to find a way to fight it.

Rey stood up, put on her boots and left the room unsure of what she was doing, the Falcon was mostly in silence except for the few people chatting in low voices.  
She noticed Finn had fallen asleep next to the girl he had come with. Rey smiled to herself, she was glad he had found another friend and a place of his own in the Resistance.

Her legs wandered for a while until she reached the cockpit, smiling to herself she remembered how full of hope she had been to find Luke. A beep noise suddenly caught her attention  
"BB-8!" She exclaimed

The droid continued beeping happily, only then she noticed his owner

"Oh hey" Poe Dameron greeted her from one of the seats

Rey instinctively took a step back "Oh I'm sorry I didn't know someone was here"

He stood up "No it's okay, I was just checking everything was in order while Chewbacca sleeps"

"Oh" she let out unsure of what to say

"Sit down, please" he said pointing at his seat, the small droid agreed

"It's alright I'll take the other one" she said a bit overwhelmed "you don't need to leave"

He sort of smiled and sat back down, Rey slowly sat down and took a deep breath, she might have not known this man but he seemed nice and the last thing she wanted was to be alone.

BB-8 proceeded to go around in circles asking where would they go next

"We need to find a new base" Poe explained him

 _"_ _Will_ _she come too?" The_ droid inquired

Rey smiled to herself, she could see Poe stutter

"Well I guess, I don't know" and then looking at her he asked "will you?"

"Well...I" She blinked a couple of times what would she do now? Fight the First Order, but...how? Luke was supposed to show her the ways of the Jedi, he had been the last one, where else could she get a proper training from?

The droid pleaded and Poe cleared his throat "I don't want to say you are our only hope but ehm...we would have died without you and well BB-8 would be thrilled if you stayed with us"

His tone made her chuckle "Alright then" she answered

The pilot smiled as well making her look away, his gaze was the one she had always thought she'd never live to see in a man

"I think you are amazing" Poe suddenly said making her jump a bit, even BB-8 seemed startled, he cleared his throat a bit embarrassed  "the rock thing...in the base when you lifted the rocks and saved us, that was amazing, I don't like to repeat myself but it was just the most amazing thing I've ever seen"

She smiled shyly "Thank you. I heard wonders of you from BB-8"

"Well he tends to exaggerate"

The small droid beeped offended the two laughed

"But we still love you" Rey tried to calm him

Poe looked at her and couldn't help but to smile, even if he could sense sadness in her eyes they were also filled with hope and...light "Yes, we do"

The two met each other's gaze and this time neither of them looked away, they both felt a strangely familiar connection between them.

"Oh you are here" a voice spoke behind them

They turned to see Finn standing awkwardly, Rey immediately ran to hug him, it didn't matter that they had already said their hellos to one another, she had missed him so much, even BB-8 had begun to spin in circles around him.

Finn laughed once their hug was over, he looked over at both of their friends "So you've guys already met"

Rey nodded "Yeah, just luck"

Poe found himself smiling at Finn, he had heard the same words coming from Rose.  
"Just luck and BB-8" he agreed


	2. A Good Job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello fellow Star Wars fans and Damerey shippers! I hope you like this story, I promise I'll write more soon :)

They had found a provisional base in the old Rebellion records, it had been built for hiding purposes but had never been necessary.

One of the things Poe admired the most of Leia was her drive to get to work with whatever they had, she would always say grief was only permitted once everything was in order.   
Since the first time he heard that it became his motto, at the passing of his own mother he had hang onto those words and did his best to work for the Resistance, it was also Leia the one who had called him one late night after non stop work and once they were alone she comforted him like a true mother would have.  
She was much more to him than just his General.

He had offered himself to check everything was in order with the place, meaning it hadn't been used or found by someone else, he had hoped Finn would join him  since the two had a lot to catch up on but Rose had finally woken up and Finn didn't dare to leave her side, itas a surprise that the other person who volunteered instead was Rey, there was something about her that made his heart skip a beat.

The two accompanied by BB-8 left the Millennium Falcon and walked the through a small courtyard that seemed to be the base, the planet was humid and also seemed abandoned, by luck they had found it for the whole planet seemed to be a forest.

"They really did a good job hiding the base" Rey pointed out

He then noticed that the whole place had been almost camouflaged by rocks and moss. The main gate looked like it had been sealed decades ago, beside it he noticed a small fuse box "Let's hope the circuits work, humidity can sometimes be messier than Storm troopers"

She laughed...he hadn't intended it to be a joke, still he smiled as well. The two approached the box and BB-8 began twitching the cables

"I haven't gotten used to this weather" she commented "back where I'm from it was always hot but it's nice to see rain and green"

He knew she was from Jakku, not just from Finn but Leia herself, even if the two had almost been introduced a few hours ago she wasn't a stranger to him. Still he asked  "Where are you from?"

Her face lost the radiant smile "Jakku"

Poe also stopped smiling, it seemed to be a touchy subject, he suddenly felt out of words... that was also new "Oh well, lovely place right?"

Rey smirked "No"

He laughed "Yeah it sucks"

She raised her eyebrows at him, Poe immediately turned to BB-8 hoping the awkwardness would somehow disappear   
"How are we doing buddy?"

The droid rolled away from the box and explained he couldn't do much since the fuses had been ruined by damp.

Poe patted him "It's okay buddy, I got this" then crouched, stuck his head inside the box and tried to make sense of all the different cables.

Before he knew Rey had joined him in the very small box making him bolt up and hitting his head

"Are you okay?" She asked worried

He bit the inside of his mouth "Oh yeah, it's nothing"....ouch

If droids could laugh BB-8 would have rolled on the floor by now, Rey chuckled a bit and continued to look with him for the correct switch.  
As much as he tried, this technology was way old for him to know the correct manual programming, maybe he could ask Chewbacca for some help...

"Oh I found it!" Rey exclaimed and held one of the cables

In queue Poe took a step back so she could work, BB-8 had moved closer to see her in action.

"BB-8, do you have something sharp?" She asked absolved in the work

The droid proceeded to show her a small knife  
"Perfect" she told him "you see this cable?...No the other one... good, that one....cut it... perfect...this too please...great! Thank you BB-8!"

Poe hadn't realized he had been holding his breath, slowly he let it out and stared in awe.

Rey twitched the two cables which caused a small spark, almost immediately the gates opened, she stood up and brushed the dust of her pants.

"What?" She asked him realizing he was staring at her

Poe could only grin "What is it that you can't do?"

The girl's cheeks turned pink for a few seconds but she returned the smile

 _"She_ _can't cook"_ BB-8 answered

Rey laughed "Well you try living on provisions"

Poe bit his lip, it sounded like she had been living hell, how could someone under those conditions be as strong and wonderful as she was?   
Rey turned to him, he could feel as if those eyes could pierce his soul.

Poe stuttered "We...we should..go... inside the base..."

She looked away and nodded "Yeah we should"

The two stood still for a few seconds until BB-8 had rolled inside himself making the two run after him.

The place didn't look like much but it was just what the Resistance needed.   
Rey checked the records of the base while Poe gave the rooms a quick check.

"There's no sign of the First Order" she called from the main room

"Great! This should do" he shouted back after he finished running down the base.

The two met at the console, both excited for a new start.  
"I'll go tell the General" Poe started saying

"And I'll tell Finn" she told him

Out of some impulse Poe reached for her hand "Thank you" he told her "for everything you've done for the Resistance, I meant what I said last time...I think you are amazing, what you did with the gate was..." He stopped realizing how cheesy he was starting to sound, he let go of her hand and sort of patted her shoulder "ehmm... it was a good job"

Rey chuckled "Umm thanks"

"I'll go tell the General then..."

"Yes...well Finn and Leia are both in the Falcon so..."

"Want to walk together?"

"...sure"

BB-8 was already half ahead of them by now.

"Wait!" They both shouted and ran after him


	3. Friend

Finn had helped cleaning the base after Rose was being properly treated in the Medical Bay, it had scared him like hell when she had lost conscience, specially since it had been his fault, she had saved him.

"Finn" a voice called him, he looked up to see it was Rey, the last time he saw her they hadn't had the proper time to talk about what had happened to them. She had been the reason he had joined the Resistance instead of fleeing like a coward, she meant so much to him.

She put a hand on his shoulder "Poe told me about your mission and about... Rose?"

Finn nodded, just to hear her name a knot appeared in his throat "Yes, that's her. I should have come to you sooner, I know you went through a lot and I wasn't there to support you"

Rey stopped him from saying more and smiled sadly at him "Finn, you have done more for me than anyone has ever done, Poe told me about how you gave him the bracelet so I could be safe , besides I know you have been worried about your friend"

Finn smiled too, the first time he saw Rey...his heart shook, she probably was the most pure and beautiful girl in the whole Galaxy...but right now seeing her so close to him after everything that had happened in the last hours it was as if something had  changed him, he didn't feel the exact same way as that first time, his heart was a mixture of different emotions, it felt too much for him to deal now, he needed a friend.  
"Hey" he began "I'm almost done and Rose is in recovery, how about we sneak out and talk?"

She bit her lip thinking "Well I had something to do..." he was just about to say that it was probably better some other time but her face suddenly changed "let's go"

Finn extended his hand to her  "Just like old times" he remembered her.

She laughed and took it "Just like old times"

And so they left the base and walked over to the woods to not be interrupted, she already knew half the story of his mission so he explained the missing details about visiting one of the most wealthy places in the Galaxy, freeing the creatures, being betrayed, fighting Phasma, and of course almost sacrificing himself  
"I would be dead if Rose hadn't risked her life for me"

Rey listened closely and gave him half a smile "She sounds amazing, remind me to thank her for saving one of the most brave fighters of the Resistance"

He snorted "Brave? I told you I was this close to escape"

She took his hand "But you didn't, you are here"

Finn almost blushed overwhelmed "Enough about me, what about you?"

Rey's gaze darkened, she looked around the woods and let out her breath "You do promise to not tell anyone right?"

"Of course" he answered begging to worry

The almost always cheerful girl suddenly fell apart, her eyes watered in frustration as she told him about her failed intent to bring Luke back and the way she had been so naïve to trust Kylo Ren, she didn't say anything but he knew that bastard had hurt her.  
"Everyone thinks I have some kind of gift but it's the worst thing that has ever happened to me...at least in Jakku I always looked forward to what the future might hold for me but now I... I've never been so lost"

 _Me too._ He thought. Still he remained silent and hugged her. Perhaps that was one clear thing in his mind, she was his friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello to anyone reading, just a heads up, English is not my first language so I apologise in case of some grammar mistakes.  
> Anyway thank you for reading :)


	4. Feelings

The sunset in the planet was one of the most beautiful ones he had ever seen in his life, the sky was painted in bright red, orange and a touch of pink. He watched carefully as the sun lowered to hide under the horizon.  
BB-8 rolled against his knee.

Poe looked at him and sighed "I guess she's not coming" the droid began telling him she had probably lost track of time "maybe"

He walked back to the base a bit upset, when Rey had told him they could borrow the Falcon for a ride he had been thrilled, it had always been his dream to pilot the ship Han Solo had owned, besides he really enjoyed spending time with her... But after an hour of delay he was sure she wasn't coming.

Poe walked to the control room, a few of the programmers were trying to descifre the data to access the records of the base.  
Connix waved at him, he smiled and approached the lieutenant, his droid however went his own way.

"Leia was looking for you" she told him

"Oh...is everything okay?"

The girl nodded "Yes, she needed help with the count of provisions but I took care of it"

"Thank you, I was just getting some fresh air" he explained

His friend arched her eyebrows "If you say so"

"What do you mean?" He asked crossing his arms

"Well it's just that you seem a bit... distracted"

He snorted "Me? What are you talking about?"

The girl took a deep breath and smirked "Your secret is safe with me"

Poe frowned making her roll her eyes, she lifted her hand and pointed at something behind him, the pilot turned to see Rey entering the base with Finn behind her. Poe's face suddenly flushed and he returned his face to Connix

"I don't know what you are talking about" he told her "get that smirk off your face"

The girl laughed "It's okay Poe, I think the General would be pleased to see the mighty Commander finally in love"

"Shut up" was all he managed to say "Don't you have work to do?"

Connix rised her hands in defeat "Al right!" And taking a step closer she whispered "Don't worry I won't tell anyone"

He gave her a stern look making her walk back to the console.  
Poe sighed, she had always loved to imagine things and to tease him constantly.

Finn and Rey stood in the middle of the hallway, he had clearly told her something funny because she had started to laugh...It was the first time Poe saw her so happy, he felt a pinch in his stomach...he knew Finn cared a lot about her and that she probably felt the same way.

Behind him Connix had coughed really loud, he turned and the girl mouthed   
" _You are staring"_

Now he was actually blushing, with a quick pace he began making his way to the quarters.

"Poe!" He heard Rey calling him

His legs stopped immediately, slowly he turned to her "Oh hello" trying to sound normal

She walked to him "I'm so sorry, Finn and I were talking and...I should have told you-"

"It's okay" he assured her with a smile, somehow just seeing how worried she was made him forget he had been upset in the first place.

Finn joined them, he patted him on the shoulder "How are you doing Poe?"

Who was he kidding? He couldn't be angry at neither of them, why would he be in the first place? It was Connix the one that was confusing him.  
"Good, we'll talk later buddy, I have to find the General"

The two nodded at him and so he left without another word, he wasn't exactly lying, Poe did want to talk with her somehow she always knew what to say to make him feel better or to be honest she could always tell what was wrong with him, still after searching she was nowhere to be seen in the base, where could she...? The Millennium Falcon.

Leia never spoke of her husband, Poe had been very young when he joined the Resistance and had barely met the Rebellion hero but he had heard stories of the two of them, he knew how the General felt.

He noticed the Falcon was open and he realized it was probably for the best that Rey and him hadn't taken the ship for a ride.  
He entered it trying to not make much noise, after all this was the legendary Millennium Falcon, he wanted to respect it.

After searching the place  he found Leia sitting in the cockpit, her gaze distant. He took a step back, maybe this wasn't the right time...

"Yes Poe?" She called him without turning around

Oops..he walked towards her "I'm sorry General, I didn't want to interrupt you"

She rose her brow "Well you aren't interrupting, what do you need?"

He sighed "Nothing...I was just looking for you"

She sort of smiled and pointed at the copilot seat, he sat down and wondered about all the adventures this ship might have been to.

"You look upset" she told him

"I'm fine..."

Leia chuckled "Alright then, I'll just assume you came all this way to spend time with me" the pilot smiled to her and she took his hand "you have been to good to me Poe"

"Because you have always been more to me" he assured her

She gave him one more smile and let go of his hand, the two stared into the night for a couple of minutes until she spoke again "I want you to take my place as General of the Resistance"

It came out of nowhere that he had to process it for a while "What?"

"Well not today but when I'm gone, I want you to take my place"

Poe turned to her "General don't say that"

"But I must" she told him with her authority tone "I'm not getting any younger and after what happened you are the most qualified and loyal person to take that position, of course we still have to work on your temper but I don't doubt that someday you will make a great General"

Her words touched him deeply but now that it was directly coming from her he felt unworthy of that position, to think that after his mistakes he would stand in the same place as her?

"I can't" he began saying "you saw how I risked everyone's lives, I put us all in danger!"

"Will you repeat it?"

"Of course not!"

"Then you have learned" and with a gentler voice she added "I wasn't born knowing what to do, no one is Poe, we all learn to lead from experience and I am sure you have more than you know and I am sure that when the time comes you will be the leader the Resistance needs"

He looked down overwhelmed and almost whispered "Thank you General"

Leia lifted his chin and gave him another smile "Let's return to the base before everyone realizes we have escaped"

Poe laughed "Connix has probably ordered a search by now"

The General stood and walked to the exit with him following "Speaking of her, she helped me to count the provisions since I couldn't find you"

Poe cleared his throat "Yes, she mentioned that, I'm sorry"

She lifted her hand dismissively "It was nothing Dameron, but where were you?"

"Emh well I was going...I didn't though...but I was waiting for...I was outside with my droid" why was it so difficult? Maybe because he didn't want to tell her that while everyone was working he had expected to fly her late husband's ship with Rey.

She frowned "It's okay if you don't want to tell me, I was just asking"

Poe sighed "It's not that! It's just that I had agreed to meet Rey, she offered to show me around the Falcon and maybe take it for a ride but she couldn't make it so I was just waiting outside... with my droid"

He could swear Leia was smirking.  
"It's okay Poe, I'm glad you are finally taking a break from all the work even for a small time"

He nodded and they continued their way back to the base with complete silence, inside he followed her expecting to join Connix and the rest at the control room, but she took a turn, they walked to the rest of the quarters until Poe realized she was looking for Rey.

"General, what are we doing?" He asked as they were almost in front of the girl but she didn't answer.

Rey was sitting on a bunk, her attention fixed to her deactivated lightsaber, only when Leia and Poe were about a meter in front of her the girl noticed them, she stood quickly "Hello General and Poe"

He waved at her and Leia smiled "Hello Rey, how are you feeling?"

"Good" she answered right away and looking between the two she added "is there something wrong?"

"No" Leia assured "it's only that lieutenant Connix has told me the Falcon is parked above the ventilation system and that we have to find another place, I was going to ask Poe but I know that Chewie only trusts you enough to fly it, would you mind accompanying Commander Dameron?"

The girl nodded "Of course"

Leia smiled "Thank you dear, let me just explain Poe the ventilation system before you two go"

"Sure" the girl told them and began to make her way outside

"Now" she said very serious to Poe "keep it low and don't go to far"

Poe blinked a couple of times "Yes... but wait...General, did you just lie to set me up with Rey?"

She rolled her eyes "Someone has to"

"But we are just friends" he began saying

"Go before I change my mind" she ordered

The pilot chuckled and walked towards the exit.

Meanwhile Leia smiled, they were both so blind.


	5. Looking back

Rey had felt guilty for having stood up Poe, it was her idea after all to fly the Falcon and he had been so excited about it, but Finn looked like he needed to talk and to be honest she needed it too, if there was someone who could relatively understand what she was going through, it was him.

It had been quite a surprise to see the General herself going to see her, Rey didn't understand how the ventilation system could be in danger for parking the Falcon on top of it but the General must have had her reasons and it was nice that Poe was coming with her.

The two entered the cockpit and she pointed the pilot seat to him

"I couldn't" he refused kindly

But she wasn't having any of that so instead of asking him twice, she sat on the copilot place.

Poe chuckled and finally took the seat.  
Watching him work seemed almost like magic, the way he pressed the controls knowing exactly what to do while he focused on nothing more than the ship made her smile, Poe suddenly took his eyes off the board and turned to her grinning "You have no idea of how much I dreamed of this"

Rey laughed and took charge activating her side of the board, a few moments later the ship was flying.  
"How about we take her for a ride? I owe you one" She offered him

Poe didn't have to be told twice, he simply flashed a big smile and took off. Even though they remained in a low altitude she understood why he was called the best pilot in the Resistance, he made flying look easy he knew what had to be done in the exact time or what to press without having to look twice, Rey was a great pilot herself but she had to admit she was impressed.

"It must have been amazing flying alongside Han Solo" he told her

She lost her smile, it had all been amazing too amazing, good things never seemed to last for her.

"He must have meant a lot to you" the way he spoke was different, soft, gentle...good.

The sudden feeling of an electric current travelling through all of her body followed by goosebumps stopped her from answering, her heart seemed to skip a beat. Rey looked down at the board to see her hand had been covered with his, slowly she let go of the breath she'd been holding.  
Poe must have realized she had tensed because he immediately moved his hand away.  
The two stayed silent for a few minutes, from the corner of her eyes she could see he was embarrassed...she could feel it, her stomach revolved, she didn't want him to think he had made her uncomfortable, his touch had certainly made her feel something but it wasn't discomfort...

"We should get back" he said in a low voice

"Yes"

He turned the Falcon around and they flew the rest of the way in silence only focusing on piloting.   
They landed a few feet away from the Falcon's original parking place so it wouldn't damage the ventilation system.

The two stood up and looked at each other awkwardly for a few seconds.  
"Thank you for the ride" Poe finally told her with a shy smile

"And thank you for accompanying me"

His lips parted like he was about to say something but instead he closed his mouth and the two left the ship.

Even though the temperature during the day was warm and humid it had lowered at night making it much more enjoyable.

"Rey" Poe called her, he seemed even more nervous than before "I'm sorry for bringing up Han Solo, I shouldn't have"

"Don't worry" she told him and taking a deep breath added "Han...he...was like the father I never had, I might have not known him for very long but... it's hard to talk about him" the knot in her throat didn't let her continue

She had never said it out loud, ever since his death she put her own grief aside and focused on getting Luke to join them or on trying to forgive Ben...

"Sometimes the most valuable lessons are learned in the shortest of times" he began saying, Rey turned to him, his gaze was fixed on the night sky "it doesn't matter if you've been with a person a day or a decade, it's their essence that sticks with you not the hours, it's their love not the time"

She could feel tears starting to gather in her eyes, without thinking it twice she hugged him, Poe returned the hug almost immediately.  
Rey didn't know how much time they had been  like this but she didn't want it to end, closing her eyes the smell of Poe's leather jacket and his indiscriptive fresh smell filled her senses, she let her grief sink in, focusing on nothing but that moment.   
Suddenly she felt something inside her, she opened back her eyes and saw  a few feet away from them the clear figure of

"Luke" she said out loud

"What?" Poe asked her

She broke the hug and wiped away her tears "Nothing, I'm sorry"

He smiled warmly at her, returning the smile she looked behind him for just a second, there was no sign of Luke... maybe she had only imagined it.

"If you ever need to talk" Poe began telling her, she returned her gaze back to him "I'm here"

"I know" she answered

He extended his arm and she took it, they walked back to the base.  
Just before entering she lingered and looked back.  
There was nothing.

 


	6. Hope

She woke up in the middle of the night, it hadn't been a nightmare just something...

Rey sat up on her bunk and waited for her eyes to adjust to the dark. 

Leia had been insistent that Rey had her own private quarters so she could train there or use it as she needed it, the girl had refused kindly but finally gave in after the General had given her the look. It still felt weird when she received a special treatment of some sort, she wasn't the only one with a private room, after all the base was bigger than what the Resistance needed. The room wasn't exactly luxurious it only had a bunk and a desk, it was small but just what she needed.

She looked at the small window and saw nothing but the bright moon shine.

Just when she was about to lay down again she felt a presence behind her making her tense.

"It's just me" he told her

Rey turned slowly, before her eyes Luke smirked and waved awkwardly.

"How?" Was all she managed to say

"The Force" he answered as if that could explain it all "The jedi never truly die"

"But I felt it" she told him "in Crait...you were gone"

"No one is ever really gone"

Her mouth began to tremble "I'm... I'm so sorry, it's my fault I should have listened to you"

Luke smiled at her "It's alright Rey, we all make mistakes"

"But I failed you...I failed myself" 

Luke's ghost stood and walked closer to her "My teacher once told me that sometimes we need to learn from our mistakes. Rey, I wish I could have been the teacher you deserved, I was bitter and stubborn, I lied because I thought I could keep you safe but you opened my eyes and made me realize that by doing that I was also shutting out all the good things"

Rey smiled despite herself and tried to reach for him but stopped...he wasn't here

"Maybe not physically" he told her as if he had read her mind "but I promise I'm here and I promise to properly train you...if you still want that"

"I do" she answered, it warmed her heart knowing she wasn't actually alone in this, knowing that she might have a purpose in her life after all 

Luke smiled "We begin tomorrow at light"

She nodded excitedly "I'll be ready"

Just when Luke was about to disappear he said "I'm sorry about earlier, I waited for your soul to be calm and in perfect balance for me to introduce myself in this way...I didn't mean to interrupt or anything"

Rey began to blush "Oh it was nothing, just a friend, he's a pilot"

"A pilot?" he inquired clearly remembering something "where have I heard that before?"  

Just when she thought her cheeks couldn't turn any more red he disappeared leaving her alone with her thoughts.

At the break of dawn Rey was already dressed and prepared, she left the base and waited outside.

Luke's ghost guided her to the woods and instructed her to meditate, he was more patient this time, his voice guided her at all times.

"Alright" he said at last "keep your eyes closed and tell me what do you see in your surroundings"

She concentrated "The woods, you, a few large rocks, a creature with his family living in the tree behind us, the path back to the base, the Falcon, Chewie repairing it" she began smiling, somehow the Wookie always considered the ship had to be fixed "General Organa in the control room, insects eating the left overs of yesterday's meal, Finn with his friend in the medical Bay and...Poe"

"Who's Poe?" He asked her suddenly interested

She tried to shrug it off "A friend, a Commander"

"A pilot" he added

Rey suddenly lost image of her surroundings and opened her eyes "Yes a pilot"

Her master didn't say anything more he simply nodded and changed the subject "You need a light saber" 

"Yours broke" she told him "I'm sorry...I brought the pieces though"

"We can use them but you need a kyber crystal"

Her mind went blank "I...I don't have a kyber crystal"

Luke simply crossed his arms "It's part of the training I'm afraid"

"Well where can I get one?"

"Rey?!" A voice called her from the trees

Luke disappeared almost immediately 

"Wait!" She shouted but he was gone

A few moments later Finn appeared "Oh there you are!"

She raised her eyebrows at him "Umm yes"

"We've been looking for you" he told her 

"We?"

In queue BB-8 appeared with Poe beside him 

"Oh hey"

"Why were you looking for me?" She asked a bit annoyed about the damn crystal

"We didn't see you at the meal time and your room was empty" Finn began explaining "we just wanted to be sure that you were okay"

"I'm okay" she assured them "I need to be alone"

Her tone might have come strong because both men took a step back

"We'll leave you then" Poe told her and he pulled Finn 

She sighed in frustration when she was alone 

"Luke!" She called "Master Luke!"

But he didn't come back, not even after meditating, she just sat on a rock all by herself feeling stressed and hungry. 

Finally she returned to the base and went over the meal area for something to eat... It was a surprise to find portions...she was having two portions for lunch.

Eating the tasteless food made her somehow melancholic about Jakku which proved how stressed and frustrated she was because there was no actual reason in the Galaxy for her to miss Jakku or portions for the matter.

"Hey" someone said before sitting next to her, she didn't even need to look up to see who it was, his voice had become too familiar

"Hi" she greeted Poe "I'm sorry about earlier...I was-"

"It's okay" he cut her off "we all need alone time"

The way he smiled at her made her feel secure, if he told her right there right now any lie she would believe it without thinking about it twice.

"So what's wrong?" he asked

"What do you mean?"

"You seem stressed" 

"It's nothing"

He chuckled "C'mon, I can see it"

She frowned "How?"

Poe pointed at her mouth "You press your lips together"

"No I don't!"

He smiled and imitated her "Yes, like this"

Rey laughed "No I don't"

"Yes you do...oh see! Right there!"

The two were soon laughing, she could even feel her smile and probably whole face change when she spoke with him, it was different from Finn or any other person, her face muscles somehow always ended up smiling when Poe talked with her, a smile she hadn't used before.

"C'mon" he insisted "tell me, I might be able to help"

She rolled her eyes but finally answered "I need a kyber crystal, do you have one in your drawer by any chance?"

He scratched the back of his head "Well I had one in the drawer of my x-wing"

"X-wings don't have drawers.."

"And I also don't have a kyber crystal so..."

She laughed and took a deep breath "I'm never going to get that crystal"

"Why do you need it for? I thought you already had a lightsaber" he told her

"It was destroyed the last time I fought Be... Kylo Ren" she explained "I need to complete my training"

"Don't worry, we'll think of something" he assured her

Rey bit her lip, Luke had to complicate things over, if she went to find the crystals in other planets she would have to take the Millennium Falcon leaving the Resistance completely unprotected, if something happened to them while she was gone there would be no way for them to scape...

Poe waved at someone behind her, she turned to see Finn walking towards them with a girl by his side

"You must be Rose!" Rey greeted the girl 

"Oh my.... yes...Rose, that's my name and you are Rey the Jedi" she began stuttering

Finn chuckled "Don't mind her, she always does that"

Rose had gotten red "No I don't...stop that!"

Rey had to smile "Well it's nice to meet you, I'm glad you are feeling better"

The girl grinned at her "Thank you, it's nice to get up at last!"

"Are you okay?" Finn finally asked her 

She sighed "Not really...I need a kyber crystal"

"Wow" Rose let out "are you going to build a lightsaber?"

"Actually yes"

Finn clapped his hands "Hey! Why don't you use Han's?"

"Han had one?"

"Yes" he said "in the Falcon, in one of the compartments of the cockpit"

"Really?!"

"Yes, when we went to Starkiller base I sort of started  exploring the ship, he hit my hand when I opened the compartment"

Rey almost laughed, even now it seemed like Han Solo was watching her back. She hugged Finn 

"Thank you"

With that she broke the hug, she would have to ask General Organa's permission to use the crystal, she was sure the woman would say yes but asking for her permission was important for her.

The guys and Rose accompanied her to speak with Leia, she was in the control room going over some archives and transmissions with Lieutenant Connix.

"General" Rey began, she wasn't exactly sure of how to explain what had happened but she had to give it a try, she told her about Luke's ghost and how he had promised her he would help to complete her training and that getting a kyber crystal to build or fix a lightsaber was important, "Finn told me that he saw one crystal in the Falcon, it belonged to Han Solo and I wondered if I could use it"

"Han had a kyber crystal?" The General asked surprised

Somehow Luke being a ghost was more believable than her husband owning a crystal.

"When I traveled with him to Starkiller base" Finn began explaining "I felt curious about the ship so I opened a hidden compartment below the control board and well I found the crystal, when I asked Han about it he sort of hit me and closed the compartment...but yes he had one"

Leia still seemed shocked "Of course you can have it Rey, do you mind if I see it first?"

"Of course not" the girl answered

"I'll stay with Connix" Poe offered"you can go General"

"Do you want me to help?" Finn offered

"Thanks Finn but I've got this" then turning to Rose she smiled "it was nice to meet you at last, thank you for saving Finn, I hope we can talk later!"

The girl nodded excitedly and waved a quick goodbye, Leia

smiled and took Rey's arm, the two went to the Falcon.

Leia's face almost shined when she entered the ship, Rey guessed she must have a thousand memories in it.

Just like Finn had said she found a kyber crystal in one of the compartments in the cockpit, gently she took it and felt the energy flowing through it, she handed it to Leia.

The woman examined it "I can't believe he kept this" she laughed a bit "it was a gift from many years ago. Han was always too proud to admit he believed in the Force, when they gave him this he told me he would sell it for a good amount of credits...we were both so young"

Rey smiled at her "I wish I didn't have to use it"

Leia took her hand and gave her the crystal "It's alright Rey, you need it more than I do, thank you for letting me relive a memory"


	7. Nothing

**Hello! Sorry for taking so long to update :( but here it is and it's the longest I've written yet! Hope you enjoy it <3**

In the last few weeks the Resistance had made contact with small organizations that fought against the First Order, General Organa was in charge of the diplomatic exchange of aid and posible troops while Connix and Poe gave her some insight in their situation and provided advice according to the different people they contacted. What was left of the Republic was scattered around the galaxies, most of them apologized for not having answered the distress signal on Crait explaining they had seen the First Order fleet had already invaded the planet and they all had left them for dead.

Poe felt irritated everytime someone used that excuse, almost all the Resistance had died trying to destroy the First Order by sacrificing their own lives, he couldn't understand how people could be so selfish, but Leia was right, they needed allies and they wouldn't get them by provoking them.

He had lost track of time, he wasn't even sure of how long ago did he last sleep or ate properly.

The truth was that once Poe was focused on completing a task he would not stop until he had finished it, besides there was nothing to distract him.

He hadn't seen Rey at all, and if he did it was brief and far from him, he knew she was probably too busy fixing the lightsaber and continuing her training but he missed spending time with her, and Finn well his friend was helping the Resistance too, he and Rose were in charge of the maintenance and improvement of the base, he wondered if Finn had been able to talk with Rey.

"Dameron" a voice woke him from his thoughts, he turned to see Leia "when did you last sleep?"

He shrugged "I'm not sure but I'm alright General, really, it's nothing"

She frowned "Go rest, that's an order"

He had to smile "I'm okay, really, besides I can't rest while you and Connix are working" he turned to his friend to see no trace of her "where did she go?"

Leia smiled "I dismissed her hours ago, look at you Poe, I need you at your best"

He was about to protest when she gave him 'the look', finally he gave up and went to his quarters, his bed hadn't been touched in a while, turning off the lights he managed to take his shoes off and lay down in bed, maybe, just maybe he did need to sleep.

There was a woman in his dream, he couldn't see her face but she was somehow familiar, the image was blurry, but he knew what was happening, he was saying goodbye to her and he knew what he had to do, slowly he took off the chain around his neck that carried his mother's  ring and gave it to her, the woman's voice was inaudible but Poe knew she was smiling.

The sound of thunder woke him up, he was still in bed and there was no sign of the woman, he quickly searched for the chain around his neck and sighed in relief at its touch.

Grunting he turned to face the ceiling and considered going back to sleep but he had work to do. Poe wondered how in the Galaxy could he focus on working when that dream had felt so real to him, it had left him uneasy and intrigued at the same time.

He put back on his shoes and jacket  and had a look outside the window, it was raining and probably had from a long time, he headed back to the control room but there was no sign of Leia or Connix so he decided it was best he took this time to eat something.

After taking his portions from the kitchen he wondered around the area until he saw Finn and Rose sitting on one of the tables and decided to join them, on his way he saw the General, she smiled pleased as he walked by.

"Hey man!" Finn greeted him and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder "I haven't seen you in a while"

Poe smiled "I know, I haven't seen you guys either, how are you doing?"

Rose took a deep breath "The base needs a lot of work, this technology is far too old, Finn has been helping me run some tests on the system to see if we can innovate it a little, we'll need new materials to accomplish that but I guess until then we'll have to improvise"

"Well I think it's impressive" he told her "and I mean it, Connix almost ruined the archive system by trying to open it, she'll be grateful if you can update this technology"

Rose laughed "It must have been stressful going through all the files"

Poe scratched the back of his head "It was but the important thing is that we have made contact"

"So someone is coming?" Finn asked "we're not the only ones left?"

"Leia is still negotiating some terms with them but, we are not alone" Poe assured him

His friend smiled and sighed "I needed some good news"

Poe cleared his throat "So, how's Rey?"

Finn's smile disappeared "I haven't really had the chance to talk with her, a few days ago I saw her running to the woods"

"Do you think she's okay? There's a storm going on"

Finn shifted uneasy "I really hope so, she told me we shouldn't worry about her"

"What about the lightsaber? Did it work?"

His friend shrugged "I don't know but I'm pretty sure she managed to get it to work"

"I wonder what color it is" Rose added

"What do you mean?" Finn asked

"The kyber crystals turn different colors depending on the person" she explained "well that's what my parents used to tell us, you know, in the stories about the Jedi"

"I thought it was only blue and red" Finn told them as he took a piece of his food "those are the only colors I've seen"

"Luke Skywalker had a green one" Poe added "my mother knew him back in the days"

"Shara Bey" Rose said with a grin "one of the heroes of the Rebellion"

Poe smiled back at her, his mother had died when he was very young but she had been the main reason he had decided to become a part of the Resistance, it was nice to see someone recognizing her name.

"Sometimes I could swear you memorized all the archives" Finn told her making his two friends laugh.

Poe suddenly felt an indiscriptive chill down his spine that almost made him shudder. As in instinct he looked over to Leia, the woman seemed to have felt it too because she turned her gaze to him and nodded.

"Finn" Poe called his friend "let's go"

At first his expression was clueless but after a few seconds he stood up too and they shared a knowing look.

"What is going on guys?" Rose asked a bit worried

Poe couldn't explain, none of them could but they had both felt the same inexplicable thing, they weren't sure of anything except that she needed them.

The two of them ran outside the base, there was no sign of her and the rain didn't help at all, not only did it limit their sight but also their hearing just when they were about to wonder into the woods Poe noticed a trail of mud that lead to the Falcon.

"Finn!" He called and pointed at the trail

His friend nodded and the two ran to the ship, the main hatch was open, Poe took a step closer and dicerned Rey sitting on it.

Seeing him the girl wiped her face, it was only then he noticed she was crying.Rey was covered from head to toe in mud and her once perfect hair had turned into a wild bun but she still left him breathless.

Slowly he walked over and took off his jacket so she could have it.

"I'll ruin it" she told him

He smiled and gave it to her "The perfect excuse to get a new one"

She put it around her shoulders and forced a smile "Thank you"

"What happened?" He finally asked

Before she could answer Finn ran to her and gave the girl a big hug.

Poe took a few steps back, enough to give them privacy but not to be completely unprotected of the rain, it wouldn't matter anymore, he was already soaked.

Fortunately Finn had been smarter than him and had used a jacket to cover his head at least.

"Ouch!" He heard Rey whimper

Poe went to them and saw Rey trying to move her feet.

"Did you fall?" He asked 

"I'm fine" she assured him "it's nothing"

Poe arched his eyebrows and looked at her right leg, her ankle was clearly swollen.

"I can fix it quickly" he promised "but I need your cooperation"

Rey sighed "Fine"

"Can you walk?"

"Not really"

He looked around, the base was too far from them to return in this conditions so it was best if they used the Falcon. Poe cleared his throat and with limited signs tried to explain he would have to carry her, she didn't seem too happy about it but still nodded.

He gently put one arm under her legs and the other around her waist.

"What do I do?" Finn asked

"Look for bandages" Poe instructed "we used all the ones in the Falcon but there are some in the medical bay in the base, make sure the rain doesn't touch them"

Finn immediately ran to the base.

Poe went up the ramp to enter the Falcon with Rey on his arms and headed to Han Solo's quarters.

"Wait" she stopped him "not there, go to the crew quarters"

Poe took a turn and followed her wishes, he finally placed her down in one of the beds taking special care of her ankle.

She sat up as much as she could "Thanks"

"Don't mention it" he told her and crouched next to her feet "do you mind?" 

"Go ahead"

Poe took off her shoe and lifted her foot, yes, it was only a small dislocation in the ankle, from his years in the Resistance he had seen  enough to perfectly recognize them.

"I'll be right back" he told her and went around the ship to look for a cloth and some water.

A few minutes later he returned and with the limited space they had he sat on the bed and proceeded to clean her ankle from all the mud.

"Okay, I need you put your hands around your leg...yes like that, are you ready?" He asked and she nodded pressing her lips, Poe placed her foot on top of his own legs  and then then his hands in each side of it and relocated it with one strong pull "there you go, are you okay?"

She had held back the pain but nodded and answered almost whispering "thank you"

Poe sighed in relief and stood up, he looked around the other beds and took a pillow so she could rest her foot on it.

"It will heal fast" he began explaining "just try to not make too much effort in a week or so and I would advise to not walk for the rest of the day and tomorrow, after that you'll be ready to continue your training"

Rey took a deep breath and rested her head against the wall "I won't"

He frowned "What do you mean?"

"The training is over" she explained with a blank expression 

"You've completed it?"

"No" she answered "but I am done with it"

He didn't push it any further. 

Just then Finn appeared with some bandages and General Organa behind him.

"Here" Finn gave them to him and immediately knelt down to Rey's side and she smiled at him.

Poe looked away and composed himself "General" he greeted her

Leia smiled and patted his arm "Good job Poe"

He then sat back on the bed and with less familiarity he covered her foot and ankle with the bandages.

"How are you feeling Rey?" Leia asked her

"I'm alright" she answered with a fake smile 

The General took her hand for a few seconds "We'll talk later"

The girl nodded.

Once Poe had finished he stood up "I'll let you have some privacy" he told Rey and Finn "if you need anything just let me know"

"Thank you Poe" Rey told him

He smiled and stepped out of the room with the General behind him

"Poe" she called him "you are soaking wet"

He laughed "Maybe a bit"

Leia chuckled and pointed at Han Solo's quarters "Come"

He was taken aback but followed her, she moved with such familiarity inside his room it made him smile.

After searching in a few drawers she finally took something out "Who knew all this smugglers wouldn't take or sell his clothes" she then gave them to him "he was taller of course but this will do"

"General, I couldn't"

"But you must" she insisted "I don't want you sick"

He smiled and she left the room so he could change, she was right, Han Solo was taller but with a simple arrangements it sort of fitted him.

He went outside and she smiled at him "Have I told you you remind me of him?"

"It's probably just the clothes" he told her 

"Yes, probably" she agreed, then taking a step closer she almost whispered "give her some time"

He frowned "What?"

Leia rolled her eyes "Nothing Poe, nothing"

 

**Side note, I know nothing of dislocations or how to relocate an ankle or anything really so I'm terribly sorry if I got it completely wrong, I tried doing some research but it's pretty late and I want to sleep so... sorry**


	8. Doubts

~~~~

The last few days had been chaotic for Rey, the first days of training with Luke she had been willing and focused and he had been far nicer than ever, but the disagreements had returned, they were mostly small but somehow they had accumulated inside her chest making her feel uneasy, and her nightmares didn't help, Kylo Ren appeared in most of them, telling her to give up or that she would die sooner or later, but Rey never mentioned it to Luke, she wasn't sure of how the whole Force ghost thing worked but he wasn't hearing it from her.

That morning after having spent the night at the woods she had felt particularly less tolerant with her master, specially since Kylo had decided to wake her up in the middle of the night and filled her head with terrible things about Luke.   
Rey had prepared her lightsaber and walked over to her "training spot", a small terrain in which the trees hadn't grown, while stretching she had felt a drop of water landing on her arm, looking up at the sky she noticed dark clouds starting to gather up, she bit her lip, her friends would probably worry about her, if the storm became too dangerous she would return of course but until then she could manage with the small camp she had made of fallen branches and leaves where she slept for the last few days, her quarters at the base were much more comfortable but she had been too busy with her training that going back wasn't an option, besides Luke had insisted she needed to be fully concentrated and going to the base represented too many distractions.  
Her master had reappeared and clearing his throat he had announced she was ready for the next step.

"You must return to Ahch-To and fight back the dark of the island"

She had stared at him "But...I can't leave the planet and I already proved myself, Kylo Ren offered me to rule the Galaxy with him and and I said no! I fought against him!" Her tone went higher and higher with each word "is that not enough?! What else do I have to do!?"

Luke didn't even blink "Maybe you should ask yourself that question"

Rey frowned at him "What are you talking about?!"

"Well" he began "you claim to have proven yourself faithful to the light and yet, you have doubts"

"Why would I have doubts?"

"You tell me" he had moved closer to her with a stern expression "you haven't been focusing"

Rey pressed her lips "I have"

"No, you haven't, I can feel it" he told her "your soul is uneasy, you need to ask yourself who you truly are"

She could feel her heart beat increasing with anger "What for? What is so important about knowing who I am? I'll answer that question right now, my name is Rey and I want to be able to put an end to this war against the First Order"

"That's not the answer"

Rey had probably never been this angry with him, she had tried to be patient, to understand him, but this was just too much.  
"Then what is it?! Do you want to hear me say that I am no one?! That I came from nowhere and that I will never belong anywhere?!" involuntary tears started to roll down her cheeks and she could feel a knot in her throat"you want me to fail? Is that...is that what this is about? You...you don't like me, you don't trust me..."

Luke had tried to move closer but she took a few steps back  
"Rey, listen to me, all I want is the best for you but I am worried, I know it's hard but-"

She interrupted him "No you don't, you don't know how I feel, you will never do, you have always been destined for greatness, you are Luke Skywalker! You are someone, maybe you didn't know at first but you found out soon enough....and....I am...I don't know who I am, I'm not... I'm..."

A loud thunder drowned her voice, she wiped her eyes and turned to him with an emotionless face "I'm done"

Her master looked sadly at her "Rey... please understand"

"No"

As in queue rain began to pour down, she tried to cover herself and ran to her small camp in where she hid.

Luke appeared next to her "It doesn't matter who you were or where you came from"

She had to shout "But it does! It will always do!"

"You saw the mistakes I made! Do you think that just because I am Luke Skywalker I knew what I was doing?! That's why I need you to understand who you are! You must embrace your past to become your future"

"No!" She answered "you have no idea of how much it hurts to be reminded how worthless my whole life is, how I am some sort of accident and how at the end of the day I remain being a nameless nobody... listen to me....I won't tolerate anyone telling me who I am, not Kylo Ren, not an island, not the dark side and certainly not you" then taking a deep breath she added "leave me alone"

Luke was clearly hurt but he took a step back and nodded "If that's what you want"

"It is"

"Goodbye Rey" and with that he disappeared.

She closed her eyes, the truth was she didn't know what was the right thing to do, she knew she would probably regret this later but at the moment it was the right choice, she would return to the base and ask the General if she could join as a pilot, her days as a Jedi were over.

The storm didn't seem to calm down anytime soon so she decided to run for the base, which had been a terrible mistake since the dirt had became mud and the rain limited her sight, just a few meters away from leaving the woods she missed a tree branch and had fallen into the mud. Her ankle had clearly twisted, Rey sat up and almost cried looking at her foot, once in Jakku she had tried to fix it herself and only had made it worse.  
With the strength she had left she stood up and tried to not move her right leg as much as she could, and jumped with the other one to the base.  
The gate was very far for her to reach under this conditions so she went to the Falcon instead

"Chewie!" She called him without any luck

At least she had found cover from the rain below the Falcon, she moved towards the hatch and tried to open it, fortunately the ship was unlocked so she could at least sit on the ramp.

So there she was, covered in rain and mud, without a teacher, she was strong, she had always been but...it was too much, even for her...  
She needed help.

 _Help, please help_.

She pleaded, to who? She didn't know.

To the Force.

A few minutes later her friends had found her, Poe had carried her inside the ship and relocated her ankle, he was nice as always but after what had happened she didn't want to talk with anyone, except well, Finn had returned.

"Rey" he called her once the  two were alone, his face had been completely serious "what happened?"

And so she told him about her training, Kylo’s force visions and her fight with Luke

“I don’t know what I’m doing” she finished

He took a deep breath “None of us knows, well at least I don’t”

She chuckled “Stop saying that to make me feel better”

“But I mean it, I can’t imagine all the things you have gone through but if I can say something is that you are the bravest person I’ve ever met and if you decided to stop your training I will support you in that, everyone will”

She smiled at him, and took his hand “Thank you”

Just when she thought Finn might say something else he cleared his throat “I should get back to the base, do you want me to take you back?”

Rey shook her head “Not just yet, don’t worry about me”

He laughed “You told me that last time, and here you are with a dislocated ankle and covered in mud”

She immediately touched her face “Wait, do I also have mud in my face?”

“And your hair” he said laughing

Rey hit him gently “Hey! Don’t laugh!”

“I’m sorry, it’s just that it looks like you got into a fight with the dirt and lost” he said trying to cover his laughter “but hey, brown is your color”

She laughed too “Well then get me something to clean myself”

Finn nodded “I’ll try to find something”

As soon as he left the quarters a worried BB-8 entered.

“Oh hello there!” she greeted him

The droid beeped nonstop asking her how she was feeling clearly concerned

“I’m alright, really” she assured him “how did you get here?... Oh, you followed Poe?”

As in queue he entered as well, he had changed his clothes but his messy hair was still wet, he smiled shyly at her.

“I thought you had returned to the base” she told him

“No, not yet, I wanted to make sure you were feeling alright and then BB-8 came here and left a trail of water in the ship” he explained “I’m trying to clean it”

The droid apologized.

“It’s okay buddy, but I’m not sure of what Chewbacca will think of it”

Rey nodded at him “You should probably clean it, Chewie can be a bit upset when the Falcon gets dirty”

Poe chuckled “Yes, Leia mentioned that”

Finn also entered the room carrying a bucket with water and cloth and handed it to Rey “Chewie is going to be pissed when he sees water in the hallway”

“I’ll get it clean” Poe told them.

“Oh don’t worry, I’ll do it” Finn offered himself.

Before he could reject Finn had already left the room, Poe took a deep breath “Do you want some privacy?”

Rey shook her head “It’s alright, sit”

He sat in the bed in front of her.

“So what have you been doing?” she asked him and took the wet cloth to clean her hands and arms “Finn mentioned something about good news”

“Well we have made contact with some of the Resistance sympathizers, the General is having discussions with them so they can help us, it’s a diplomatic thing, Connix and I try to help as much as we can but I’ll admit sometimes it feels like too much” he began telling her “but I’m trying to learn as much as I can”

She listened closely to him, it was always nice to see someone so passionate about something, it seemed like his eyes always sparkled when he spoke about the Resistance, she wondered if one day she’d feel the same way about something.

“I’m sure you’ll learn in no time” she assured him with a smile, she then tilted her head “your clothes kind of look like-“

“Han Solo’s” he told her “Leia insisted I would get sick if I didn’t change”

She chuckled “I knew that looked Corellian”

He nodded “I hope it’s okay, I mean it was a bit strange to put them on and… you knew him”

“Don’t worry” she told him “clothes are clothes and, they kind of suit you”  
He smiled at her

BB-8 beeped offering to help her, she smiled and gave him the cloth so he could clean it in the bucket and give it back to her, it was amazing to see him do all that, Rey then tried to clean her face, she had no idea that droids could laugh but somehow BB-8 made a similar noise.  
She tried to clean it again but he continued laughing or whatever he was doing.

“Hey” Poe called him “that’s not nice”

The droid apologized almost immediately making Rey laugh.

"Do I still have some?" She asked

He smiled "Just a bit...may I?"

The droid rolled away giving them some space, Poe walked to her, she felt her heart stop for a few seconds and nodded handing him the cloth, he knelt next to her and gently placed it on her forehead and proceeded to clean it delicately, his eyes fixed on the cloth while she stared at him, she had never been this close to him, not even when they hugged she had been able to feel his breath on her face, he finally put the cloth down

“There” he said in a low voice, his eyes fixed on hers

“Poe” she said his name out loud

“Yes?”

Rey didn’t know what to say, she wasn't sure of why she had called his name... should she say something? She had never experienced something like this before, she could feel her own cheeks turning red, unable to think of something she could say or do she moved closer and kissed his cheek “Thank you”

Poe stared at her clearly surprised and she could have sworn he was blushing too “You are welcome” he muttered

“It’s cleaned!” Finn announced entering the room  
Poe immediately stood up and Rey looked away.

“Guys?” Finn called them “is everything okay?”

“Yeah” Poe and Rey answered at the same time

 _“No”_ BB-8 added  
Luckily for them Finn couldn’t understand the droid.

His friend frowned at them “Okay”

“I’ll return to the base” Poe told them “call me if you need anything”

“Sure man” Finn told him and just as Poe was about to leave the room he stopped him “Hey, is that mud on your cheek?”

The pilot laughed nervously “Good one buddy, I’ll see you later” and left

BB-8 beeped a goodbye to Rey and followed his master.  
Finn shrugged “What’s up with him?”

Rey shrugged and laughed trying to cover her smile “No idea”


	9. Risks

General Organa had called him for an urgent matter to the control room, it had surprised him at first since it was probably the middle of the night, Connix had gone to his room and woke him up, he noticed she had also been recently called, when they arrived he was still half sleep but seeing her worried glance he knew something important had happened.

Connix cleared her throat and pointed to the screen.

"They made contact again" Poe read out loud "those are good news, right?"

"They are asking for an audience" Leia told him in a low tone "a private one"

He crossed his arms understanding "They want to come here"

Leia nodded slowly "We'd give away our hiding position, I know that we are in no place for stating conditions but it's too risky"

"Send me" he told her "Chewbacca can drop me in an agreed planet and I will negotiate in your place"

The General smiled sadly and sighed "I knew you would say that"

"Do I have permission then?"

Her gaze turned serious "I can't risk your life Poe, not only because I care deeply about you but because you are the best pilot we have"

He took a step forward "and also the only one that has more opportunity to scape in case it's a trap"

"What will you do? Take the whole First Order on your own?"

"He doesn't have to" a voice interrupted them

Poe turned behind him to see Rey standing in the room, she walked to them with her gaze glued to Leia's

"General, I joined the Resistance to stop the First Order, I had once planned on doing so as a Jedi" her voice got caught in her throat but she quickly composed herself "let me do this instead, let me serve the Resistance"

Poe looked over at Leia, her eyes seemed troubled but Rey was right, if they had any chance on making arrangements with possible allies she was the best choice, not only because she had the closest thing to militar training but because she was a symbol people would look up to, even if Rey couldn't see it, she was hope.

After what seemed an eternity the General took a deep breath and closed her eyes   
"Connix, make contact"

The girl obeyed and placed herself at the console.

Leia turned to Poe and Rey and spoke   
"You will leave at sunrise, Chewie will drop the both of you in a safe location" her eyes opened again "you will act with precaution and abort at any sign of traps"

They nodded and shared a complicity glance.

XXX

"I wish I could go with you" Finn kept on telling her "maybe I should speak with the General"

Rey smiled "We won't be gone for too long, and what we are trying to avoid is risking the Resistance, they need you here...I need you to be safe"

Finn pulled her into an embrace, he knew Rey would always come back but it was always hard to see her leave, specially since they had just reunited.

"I'll be alright" she whispered in his ear.

The Falcon's engine roared, Finn let her go and smiled to her one last time before she aboarded the ship.  
Poe appeared by his side, he carried a bag in one arm, his friend patted his back and smiled.

"I'll se you later buddy" he told him

Finn returned both the pat and the smile  
"Yes" and taking a deep breath he added "take care of her"

He knew Poe understood what he meant, Rey might be the strongest person he had met but he was aware she felt vulnerable at the moment.

"I promise" Poe told him and with that he was gone too.

Finn walked a few feet away from the Falcon and watched it as it disappeared into the sky.

"She's going to be fine" a voice told him

He turned to see Rose standing behind him, a sad smile on her face.

"Yes, she is" he agreed and noticing her expression he added "is something wrong?"

Rose shook her head "No, everything's fine"

 

 


	10. Suspicion

**Hello there! Thank you for reading, I apologise for the delay of the updates but here is another chapter <3**  
**A side note, the planets and characters that I will mention are from a book that belonged to the EU, I know they aren't canon anymore but it was a great book so...screw it :P**  
**Don't worry, you don't need to have read it to understand, I'll explain what's necessary and if you ever want to check it out I recommend it: The Truce At** **Bakura**

Chewie had landed incognito about an hour ago but according to Poe they could not leave the Falcon until they received some kind of signal, which she thought it was hopeless since there was no signal of anyone around, they were hiding in a forest and it had started raining. Meanwhile they waited in the cockpit.

"What's the name of the planet again?" She asked

"Bakura" Poe answered "it used to belong to the Alliance but since the Republic was destroyed they have kept a low profile"

"I've never heard of it" she told him

Chewie explained it wasn't so famous since most of their commerce was local.

"Apparently it's safe enough" Poe added "the General says she has a friend there that will provide us a safe hiding place, we still need to be in cover"

Chewie suddenly roared making them turn their attention to him, through the cockpit's visor they could see up ahead what seemed to be a small group of people holding lights to them.

Both Rey and Poe took their respective belongings and prepared to leave the ship.

"Here" he told her after handing her a black cape with a hood to keep her from getting soaked in the rain.

Rey took it and put it on, it was way too big for her but it was also what they needed to not be seen, she turned to Poe to see him also wearing one and almost laughed.

"What?" He asked

"I can't even see your face"

"I think that's the point" he joked

The wookie announced he would open the hatch and they turned to wave their goodbyes.

As soon as they left the Falcon Rey noticed  that even though the weather was humid as it was in the base it was also less warm.  
They made their way towards the group that waited for them.   
Once they were a few feet away Poe stopped, she reached underneath her cloak for her light saber and waited.

One member of the group stepped forward, Poe took off his hood to reveal his identity and so did the other.

Rey was surprised to see a woman about Ben's age, she was gracefully beautiful but wore a stern look that made her look older than she probably was.

"I'm Malinaza Thanas" The girl introduced herself "I've been sent by the Bakuran Resistance sympathizers to escort you to a safe place"

The next one to speak was Poe, his tone was gentler but firm enough.   
"I've been sent by General Leia Organa to represent the Resistance best interests in this new alliance, I'm Commander Poe Dameron"

The girl nodded and suddenly turned to Rey expecting an introduction as well.

By instinct she looked over at Poe and he nodded.

"My name is Rey" she began "former apprentice of Luke Skywalker, Jedi master"

As if she had said the correct answer for a riddle the girl's face lit up hearing that name, she asked them both to follow her and the rest of the group.

Once they were far enough she heard the Falcon beginning to take off, it was now up to her and Poe to ensure the Alliance and somehow survive if need be.

The forest came to an abrupt end revealing the city which looked like it had once been a glorious one, Malinaza lead them from alley to alley until they stopped at a house that was protected by tall walls, the girl pressed her hand to the surveillance system and the door opened.   
From inside the house seemed to have been a luxurious place in its time, now some windows had turned a bit yellow on the corners and the construction materials were beginning to deteriorate.   
Malinaza lead them inside, she took off her cloak and offered to take theirs.

Poe smiled kindly and gave her his, Rey wasn't used to this kind of hospitality but she also gave her the cloak, she wasn't exactly sure if the girl was to be trusted but for now she would do what Poe did, after all he knew how to deal with diplomacy.

"We received the message that the meeting would take place as soon as we arrived to Bakura" Poe began saying "will it be here?"

Another member of the group, this one an older man with a serious look shook his head  
"We had to make last minute arrangements, the sympathizers will arrive tomorrow"

Her friend nodded but she could tell he was upset.

Malinaza spoke again "Meanwhile you should get some rest, if you'll follow me I'll take you to your dormitory"

Rey and Poe followed her up the caracol stairs and towards a long hallway until they finally stopped at a door, she opened it to show what seemed to be some sort of living room, she waited for them to enter to do so as well then she walked towards a table and picked up a commuter   
"The bedroom is in the back of the room, if you need anything don't hesitate to call me"   
She then left the room closing the door behind her.

Almost immediately Poe sank into one of the couches and covered his face.   
"I have a feeling the negotiations will take longer than we anticipated"

Rey gave the room a look, it was luxurious enough for what she was used to but something felt off, artificial.   
"Do you trust her?" she found herself asking

He crossed his arms "I don't trust anyone apart from the members of the Resistance, but I'll give them my trust for now, let's just hope I'm not wrong"

She nodded and decided to take a closer look at the rest of the room. Aside from the couches in the living room there was a small hallway that lead to a bedroom while on the opposite side it lead to the bathroom, she was a bit hesitant to enter the bedroom since she doubted there would be a second bed and she knew Poe would take the couch no matter how tired he was, so instead she walked to one of the windows and looked through it, somehow she could see a small patio at the interior of the house, she looked closely and realized that from there the entrance and the main living room was also visible, the group that had brought them was still in there alongside Malinaza, they seemed to be in an important conversation because ever listened to her.

"What do you see?" Poe asked

He had moved to the window as well, right next to her, and since the window was small they were practically pressed together.

Malinaza suddenly stopped speaking and one by one the guests began to leave.

Rey stepped away from the window and took a deep breath, after she had sent Luke away from her it had become harder to focus on the force so she couldn't exactly feel what Malinaza or the rest of the group planned to do, she felt useless.

Poe gently touched her arm "We should get some sleep while we can"

She nodded dismissively and walked to the bedroom, like she had thought there was only one bed.

"They probably had some hope Leia would come herself" he told her pointing at the bedroom "they figured there was no point on fixing another bed for some messengers like us"

She laughed almost sadly "We could take turns, you sleep on the bed tonight and I'll take tomorrow"

He was a gentleman, he had always been but she could tell he was tired and there was no way he could lie about that, not even to himself but he lingered to answer.

"Poe" she called his name and met his gaze "it's alright, I promise I'm not tired"

He finally gave in "Fine, but you take it tomorrow, no discussions"

Rey wanted to laugh "Deal"   
  
  
  
  
  
  



	11. Trust

Poe had woken up very early in the morning, apparently Bakuran citizens didn't pay much mind on blocking the sun light from the windows, he stood up and looked around the place for any possible wires or suspicious artifacts, he might have looked a bit ridiculous but it was always better to be completely sure they were safe, the bedroom seemed to be clear so he slowly opened his door and walked outside trying to make as little sound as possible in case Rey was still sleeping.

He saw her curled up on the couch looking peaceful and almost smiled, he knew she would sometimes have nightmares, Finn had mentioned it once or twice and he had payed more attention to when she looked somehow disturbed during the day. Poe felt terrible just thinking about her going through all of that, she didn't deserve it, he still had occasional bad dreams about his interrogation with Kylo Ren, he couldn't even begin to imagine what she must feel, so it was nice to see her resting.

Carefully he made his way around the place inspecting every little detail, to be honest he had forgotten to do it yesterday and it hadn't been exactly necessary, they hadn't spoken about any detail about the Resistance or its members.

Just as he was done he heard a gentle knock on the door, he turned to Rey and when he saw she was still sleeping he opened the door slowly.

Malinaza stood outside and was surprised he had actually answered, Poe stepped outside and closed the door behind him.

"I apologize for disturbing you so early in the morning" she told him

"It's alright" he answered "how can I help you?"

Just then he had a chance of actually looking at her, everything had happened so fast he hadn't even payed much attention to her face and for some strange reason she seemed familiar, her eyes each had a different color grey and green, it was completely unusual but he had to admit she was beautiful, she had long black her pulled back in a ponytail and a curtsy smile on her lips, only then it hit him, for some reason he saw a small resemblance to his own mother in her, Malinaza didn't actually look like Shara Bey but the way she held someone's gaze with confidence made him remember her.

She cleared her throat "I have made contact with the sympathizers, they will arrive today and we will held the meeting here at night. I have just made contact with them but supposed you would want to know right away"

"That's perfect" be answered suddenly relieved by the way this was turning out to be "thank you"

When he thought she might turn and leave she fixed her gaze on him, a stern yet diplomatic face took over her small smile, she spoke even more confident than she had been doing 

"I was talking with the Bakuran gabinet and we came to the agreement that it would be best if you two would share the Resistance conditions with us before taking them to tonight's meeting" then added "it's just a way to guarantee that both interests lead to the same end"

He changed his expression as well, he was now a representative of the Resistance itself "I will speak to General Organa herself" he told her "but I'm almost sure we have the same interests"

Her face went emotionless and she simply nodded then changing the subject said "We will wait for you downstairs for breakfast in an hour" and with that she was gone.

Poe returned to the room and sighed

"What are you doing?" Rey asked groggily, she was already sitting in the couch "did something happen?"

He then explained what the girl had told him and what she expected them to do.

Rey crossed her arms "So what will we do?"

He scratched the back of his head "We'll call Leia, I mean it's obvious that they need to know what we will ask of them but I need to make sure that she thinks it's what we should do, there's a risk the Bakurans might want to tell us that we should change a few things of our request and it might affect the Resistance"

She nodded understanding and so on Poe installed his comlink and the hologram console, a few moments later the figure of Leia Organa appeared in front of them.

"Hello General" he saluted

"Dameron, Rey" she spoke with a small smile "how is the progress?"

"The meeting will be held tonight" he answered and taking a deep breath explained what she had asked of them

The General remained still the whole time and once he had finished she simply asked "What would you do?"

She was telling him it should be his decision, right after he had lost half of the Resistance for a bad strategy she was trusting him their political position.

"I would tell her our requests, just like you said we are in no place to demand anything but if I can be honest with you General, they expected you to have come here, we need to show them stability, we need to show them hope... maybe I shouldn't have come here in your place"

Leia almost smiled "On the contrary Poe, you are there to give them a new picture in which there will be a new Republic that will stand again and will spread throughout the Galaxy, what could I do to achieve that? I'm just an old woman, but you, you are the new generation that will make things right" then turning to Rey she added "and you Rey, you are hope itself, I know it's difficult for you to open up again to the force but we need you to show them there is something they can believe in, I know it's too much to ask but please, be the Jedi they need you to be"

Poe turned to Rey, the girl lifted her chin and nodded "Yes General"

Leia smiled "I will leave you know, I trust you both, we all do, all that's left is that you do too"

And with that the transmission ended.

Rey took a deep breath and sat back down on the couch, her gaze distant.

Poe sat next to her and without thinking too much about it he took her hand "Hey, are you alright?"

She turned to him and pressed her lips "I... I'm fine, it's only that I'm not sure being a Jedi is what I should be, Luke was very clear about it"

"Maybe you don't have to be a Jedi"

She frowned a bit "Then what would I be?"

Then smiling he said "Hope, be their hope Rey, they need to see for themselves that there is more than darkness in the Galaxy, they need to see balance, who needs a hermit? You don't need to be a follower of the Jedi, you just need to be a carrier of the force, the good kind of force"

She laughed despite herself and pressed his hand "Thank you"

He smiled at her and said "Time to let your lightsaber shine"


	12. Need

Rey was absolutely sure that she had no idea of what she was doing, the word Jedi or the even thought of them had become archaic and a complete myth, in a way she felt safer thinking that if she made a mistake no one would expect otherwise since the Jedi code or even behavior was completely unknown, yet she could feel everyone's eyes on her, expectant, hopeful, curious, she was overwhelmed but tried to hide all of her concerns with a mask of confidence and peace.

Poe did most of the talking, he had always been charismatic and it seemed like he enjoyed this kind of meetings, he looked at her regularly to make sure she was alright and even though she wasn't familiar with any of the arrangements between the Resistance or governments were, she was completely absorbed and amazed of how organized they were.

It was only when a former member of the Republic appeared that Poe had to leave her side at the table.

"He might know something about survivors or allies" he had told her

Rey nodded and insisted he should go to him, she was left alone to sit on the large table with curious eyes on her.

"Rey" a soft voice called her

She turned to Malinaza surprised by her tone, the woman's gaze had softened, she walked towards her and in a low voice said "I was hoping we could talk, your master, Luke Skywalker, was very important for my family and for me"

Rey felt guilty for not knowing anything about Luke, he had become a constant struggle for her that she had forgotten he had been a person as well.  
"Of course" she told her and followed her into the hallway away from curious eyes. Even Malinaza seemed to want to avoid prying eyes, she lead her to the main entrance door where no one could hear them unless they wanted to be noticed.

"He is dead isn't he?" The woman suddenly asked, her tone different from what she had heard her with, even her gaze had changed, it was as if she was seeing her for the first time, a softer and human like version.

"He is" Rey spoke slowly, she could tell it was a delicate subject, wanting to comfort her she added "he's in peace"

Malinaza hid the sorrow from her expression and smiled politely "Good, he was a good man, he suffered a lot and had to carry the Jedi's prestige on his back for the whole Galaxy, you must know this of course"

She blinked a couple of times, Malinaza's Luke sounded like the one she had hoped to meet, what could she do but not to lie? A true Jedi would probably know and respect their master "Of course... Although he didn't talk much about his past"

"Luke Skywalker and General Organa were the reason Bakura could become independent of the Empire, even after the Emperor and Darth Vader were defeated the tyranny continued, my mother told me stories of the poverty that Bakura suffered, the fear that reigned, but she also told me about the hope Luke Skywalker brought, a carrier of the Force"

Rey smiled politely "General Organa spoke fondly  of you"

Malinaza hid a smile "I must have met her once or twice but I believe she and Han Solo had a good relationship with my parents, it was Luke the closest to me, he was like a father to me"

"I'm sorry for your loss" Rey found herself saying, with all that had happened she had thought Luke Skywalker not more than a bitter old man to the point that she had shut him out of her life, maybe she had been too hard on him, maybe she did need him.

"It's alright" the woman told her and composed herself "now it's our time to make the decisions"

Rey nodded and the two of them began walking to the meeting table, just before entering Malinaza turned to her and extended her hand "Thank you for that chat"

Unsure of what to do the girl smiled and reached for her hand only to notice Malinaza was giving her a piece of paper, when she looked at her in confusion the woman pretended nothing had happened, the without meeting her gaze she let go of the hand and spoke   
"You must forgive me, I need to host the other guests, perhaps you have time to take some air" 

Rey hid the paper and walked straight to Poe, he was still speaking in low voice with the man they had seen.

"Commander Dameron" she began "we must send our report to General Organa at this hour as she requested"

Without thinking it twice he agreed and apologized to the man before walking back to their room, she closed the door behind him and he stood in front of the window  
"We're being watched" he told her "what did you find out?"

Rey took out the piece of paper "Malinaza slipped it to me making sure no one saw" she then cleared her throat and read out loud "There's a traitor, keep your eyes open"

Poe began walking around the room thinking "We knew this wouldn't be easy but we need to be careful, there are people willing to help us while there's the First Order, when we present our case the information concerning the status of the Resistance will place us in disadvantage, we need to find the traitor fast"

"What about the man you've been speaking with?"

"It did cross my mind but no, he gave me information about survivors of the Republic, where they've been hiding and their activities, they've lead two or three victories in nearby planets under the name of the Resistance"

"Well it could be anyone then"

Poe walked to her, slowly but steady "Rey, could you....? Could the Force help us?"

"I... I don't know, I told Luke... when I quit... I told him I didn't want anything to do with the Jedi, the Force included"

He put his hands on her shoulders "Rey, look at me, we can do this without the Force if you are more comfortable, we'll look extra hard but listen, we need you, the Resistance needs you, those people do too, I need you. I know the Force is part of you, you can do much more than any of us can, if someone can do this is you"

"I will"

He smiled at her and walked to the door

"Poe" she called, he turned to her, "if something happens protect the people, I'll take care of it"

"Without a doubt


End file.
